Aasimar

Aasimar Traits

Aasimar share certain racial traits as a result of their celestial descent.

Protector Aasimar

Protector aasimar are charged by the powers of good to guard the weak, to strike at evil wherever it arises, and to stand vigilant against the darkness. From a young age, a protector aasimar receives advice and directives that urge to stand against evil.

Scourge Aasimar

Scourge aasimar are imbued with a divine energy that blazes intensely within them. It feeds a powerful desire to destroy evil-a desire that is, at its best, unflinching and, at its worst, all-consuming. Many scourge aasimar wear masks to block out the world and focus on containing this power, unmasking themselves only in battle.

Fallen Aasimar

An aasimar who was touched by dark powers as a youth or who turns to evil in early adulthood can become one of the fallen - a group of aasimar whose inner light has been replaced by shadow.

Aasimar

“When you are old enough to read this words, their meaning will unfold. These words all that's left and though we've never meet, my only son, I hope you know that I would have been there to watch you grow. But my call was heard and I did go. Now your mission lies ahead of you as it did mine so long ago.”

“To help the helpless ones who all look up to you and to defend them to the end… Ride like the wind. Fight proud, my son. You're the defender God has sent”

—Defender (Manowar)

"I saw her, wreathed in wings of pure light, her eyes blazing with the fury of the gods. The bone devils  stopped in their tracks, shielding their faces. Her blade,  now a brand of light, swept once, twice, three times. The  devils' heads hit the ground, one after another. And thus we  learned that an aasimar traveled in our ragtag band."

—Geldon Parl, Of the Tyranny of Dragons

Aasimar are plane-touched mortals who can feel the majesty of the Upper Planes in their blood. Many are the descendants of rare coupling between mortals and celestial a such as deva and planetar collectively known as "aasimon" (hence the name). Others were human once but some incredible event on the Upper Planes - such as accessing a potent planar touchstone - infused them with celestial energy. And others still are mortal incarnations of celestial a that have taken on the guise of mortal flesh to better understand humanity or aid the fight against evil.

In a world of violence, injustice, and evil, aasimars are on the front lines, lending their abilities where needed. Some try to stave off evil by teaching and leading by example in the fight against ignorance, prejudice, and greed. 

Aasimar bear within their souls the light of the heavens. They are descended from humans with a touch of the power of Mount Celestia, the divine realm of many lawful good deities. Aasimar are born to serve as champions of the gods, their births hailed as blessed events. They are a people of otherworldly visages, with luminous features that reveal their celestial heritage.

Celestial Offspring

Aasimar are the descendants of celestial beings. These folk generally appear as glorious humans with lustrous hair, flawless skin, and piercing eyes. Aasimar have a natural compulsion to try and right the wrongs of the world, and to defend the goodness within the Material Plane. As such, Aasimar often try to pass off as humans, intertwining themselves into society without drawing undue attention to their celestial heritage. Like all humans, no two Aasimar are quite alike. Some grow up to be great healers, while others find their place on the front line of battle. Were one might become a preacher in a temple, another might rise to power and become a revered leader. Regardless of their calling, all Aasimar desire to fit in society as much as anyone else.

Celestial Champions

Aasimar are placed in the world to serve as guardians of law and good. Their patrons expect them to strike at evil, lead by example, and further the cause of justice.

From an early age, an aasimar receives visions and guidance from celestial entities via dreams. These dreams help shape an aasimar, granting a sense of destiny and a desire for righteousness.

Each aasimar can count a specific celestial agent of the gods as a guide. This entity is typically a deva, an angel who acts as a messenger to the mortal world.

Hidden Wanderers

While aasimar are strident foes of evil, they typically prefer to keep a low profile. An aasimar inevitably draws the attention of evil cultists, fiends, and other enemies of good, all of whom would be eager to strike down a celestial champion if they had the chance.

When traveling, aasimar prefer hoods, closed helms, and other gear that allows them to conceal their identities. They nevertheless have no compunction about striking openly at evil. The secrecy they desire is never worth endangering the innocent. 

Aasimar Guides

An aasimar, except for one who has turned to evil, has a link to an angelic being. That being - usually a deva - provides guidance to the aasimar, though this connection functions only in dreams. As such, the guidance is not a direct command or a simple spoken word. Instead, the aasimar receives visions, prophecies, and feelings.

The angelic being is far from omniscient. Its guidance is based on its understanding of the tenets of law and good, and it might have insight into combating especially powerful evils that it knows about.

As part of fleshing out an aasimar character, consider the nature of that character's angelic guide. The Angelic Guide table below offers names and natures that you can use to flesh out your character's guide.

Note to the DM (Playing an Angelic Guide): As DM, you take on the role of an aasimar's angelic guide and decide what kind of advice or omens to send in dreams. The deva, or other celestial being, is your chance to add special roleplaying opportunities to the game. Remember, a deva lives in a realm of absolute law and good. The deva might not understand the compromises and hard choices that mortals must grapple with in the world. To the deva, an aasimar is a prized student who must live up to high, sometimes inflexible standards.

Conflicted Souls

Despite its celestial origin, an aasimar is mortal and possesses free will. Most aasimar follow their ordained path, but some grow to see their abilities as a curse. These disaffected aasimar are typically content to turn away from the world, but a few become agents of evil. In their minds, their exposure to celestial powers amounted to little more than brainwashing.

Evil aasimar make deadly foes. The radiant power they once commanded becomes corrupted into a horrid, draining magic. And their angelic guides abandon them.

Even aasimar wholly dedicated to good sometimes feel torn between two worlds. The angels that guide them see the world from a distant perch. An aasimar who wishes to stop and help a town recover from a drought might be told by an angelic guide to push forward on a greater quest. To a distant angel, saving a few commoners might pale in comparison to defeating a cult of Orcus. An aasimar's guide is wise but not infallible.

Black and White

Aasimar are good folk who have seen much of the world, but not experienced it. Some might see them as naive and inexperienced, for they are trusting and believe in the good of people, but aasimar do not suffer the wrath and hate of others. They become impassioned about their causes.

Often aasimar dedicate themselves to righting the wrongs of others, even when it is not always their place to do so. The gray issues of morality seem more black and white to them, which means they come down on one side of the issue with almost blind loyalty and fight for it to the end. Some of the most emotional arguments ever witnessed happen when two aasimar disagree.

Aasimars who adventure might do so for a myriad of reasons. They might have a passionate viewpoint they intend to bring to the world, they may have fallen in love with someone who lives in a distant land, they might feel more allied with a government other than their own, or perhaps they just have an intense desire to see more of the world. Most people have seen aasimar before and treat them as a passing curiosity. In the countryside, aasimar are rarer and might be met with stares, probing questions, and even fear.

An aasimar adventurer might be a paladin ridding the world of whatever he or she deems to be evil, a cleric recently converted to a different religion, a wise druid hermit who trusts plants and animals more than the fickle people of the world, or anything you dream.

Role Models

Sometimes aasimars present an aloof and lofty demeanor, an intimidating aura that, while noble, keeps people from trying to get too close. Among some cultures, aasimars are held in high opinion as a standard by which all should live, while other cultures view aasimars as self-righteous and dangerously moralistic.

Charitable and confident

Aasimar understand that they are special, even if they do not understand their true heritage. Many aasimar from a latent bloodline don’t even know what creature engendered the line in the first place. Two aasimar from the same bloodline often have the same distinguishing feature.

Aasimars have no true society of their own. Few have the opportunity to meet other aasimar or celestial beings, so they attempt to blend into the culture of their parents. If they had such a thing, aasimar would tend to have a society focusing on charitable works, helping the needy, and campaigning to eradicate corruption. In a few rare places, aasimar can find true acceptance and search for news of other aasimar born in other lands, hoping to make arrangements to have the child brought to the sanctuary and raised in an environment where he or she is cherished, not considered strange.

Aasimar Names

Aasimars usually have names appropriate to the culture in which they were raised. An aasimar who wants to fit in among humans might trade an celestial name for a human name.